Call-service for restaurants.



PATENTED APR; 7, 1903.

R. W. iENNI es. CALL SERVICE FOR RESTAURANTS.

APPLICATION FILE-1300130. 1902.

H0 MODEL.

No; 724,874. PATENTEDAPN'V, 1903.

- R. W. JENNINGS.

CALL SERVICE FOR RESTAURANTS. Q

APPLIOATIQN FILED 00130. 1902. N0 MODEL. I v 2 SHEETSTSHEET 2.

Y Y Wmim;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUTHERFORD W. JENNIN GS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CALL-SERVICE FOR RESTAURANTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 724,874, dated. April '7, 1903.

- Application filed October 30, 1902. $erialNo.129,4'72. (No model.)

T0 at whom it mag concern: Be it known that I, RUTHERFORD W. J EN- NINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Call-Services for Restaurants, of which the following is a specification. I

' My invention relates to certain improvements in call-services for restaurants or other places where it is desired to communicate a number of orders from one point to another.

The object of my invention is to so connect the dining-room with the kitchen by means which will dispense with verbal communications and to provide a positive ordering means which will remain in the kitchen until the order is served.

My invention is especially applicable for service in what are known as light-lunch cafes, although it will be understood that the invention is applicable for use in diningrooms of restaurants and hotels and may be used in many places Where it is desired to order a number of articles stored or prepared in one part of a building and delivered to another part.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagram perspective view illustrating my invention in connection with the counter of a light-lunch caf and kitchen. plan view of a portion of a caf, showing a number of counters. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the kitchen, which in the present instance is directly under the caf; and Fig. 4 is a view of one of the indicating-balls used in carrying out my invention.

R, B, G, and Y are the four counters, in the present instance of a light-lunch caf. These counters are on one floor, and the kitchen in the present instance is on the floor directly below the caf.

r, b, g, and 'yare the four dumb-waiters leading from their respective counters to tables R, B, G, and I" in the kitchen. The dumb-waters can be of any type desired, being sufliciently large to accommodate one or two orders, as the space is usually cramped,

, and therefore the dumb-waiter should be as compact as possible.

A is a desk, preferably arranged at the center of the kitchen, and this desk should be elevated, so that the person sitting at the Fig. 2 is a Qmarked thereon from 1 to 20.

desk can oversee the entire kitchen, and especially the serving-tables and the tables at the dumb-waiters.

D is the serving-table, and there are as many compartments inthis table as there are dumb-waiters. In the present instance there are four dumb-waiters, and therefore the serving-table is divided 'into four divisions r b g y. The top of the deskAis slightly inclined, and at the center of the desk is a channel a, and on each side of the channel are compartments a.

E is a central receiving-tube, having an outlet-opening e in line-with the channel a. From this central receiving-tube extend tubes 1 WY 9 11 to a point at their respective counters R B G Y near the dumb-Waiters. The tubes at their upper ends preferably have funnel-shaped months, as indicated in the drawings, and may be made of solid tubing or of wire-gauze bent to shape or may be made of a series of rods, so as to expose the balls. At each counter are receptacles for the balls, in the present instance in the form of trays 0, divided into a series of compartments c, the number of compartments depending altogether upon the number of dishes served in the caf. The balls I (shown clearly in Fig. 4) are placed in the trays, and these balls are numbered, and the compartments are also preferably numbered from 1, say,

to 20, and each ball has a certain number There may beas many balls of the same number in the single tray as desired, and somecompartments may have more balls than others, according to the popularity of the dishes served.

The serving-table D, as before remarked, is divided off into four compartments 1" b g y, and at one side of each compartment are channels r b 9 y and connecting the desk A with these channels above described of the serving -table D are tubes r b g y. The tubes are of such a size that they will readily accommodate the balls I, so that the balls can travel by gravity in the present instance from the counter in the caf to the desk A and from the desk to the serving-table.

I preferably indicate the several balls belonging to certain counters by color, and I find thatthe simplest method is to have the balls all of the same color and indicate the tables by dilterent colors of figures. For instance, the counter R is indicated by red numbers on the balls, the counter B is indicated by blue numbers on the balls, the counler G is indicated by green numbers on the balls, and the counter Y is indicated by yellow numbers on the balls, and so on, according to the number of counters in the caf. These colors may for convenience be indicated on the serving-table D in any suitable manner and on the difierent tables with which the dumb-Waiters comm u nicate,and the tubes leading from the desk to the serving-table may also have indicating-marks of the color of the numbers on the balls.

The operation of the system of the call-- service is as follows: At the beginning of the dining-hour the balls of a certain color are arranged in the trays O of their respective counters, and the balls are in the compartments in the trays according to the number. There is an attendant stationed at each counter, and there is a director stationed at the desk A in the kitchen. There are one or more tables for a certain number of articles and having a number of attendants,who must see that these tables are supplied with the necessary articles. Certain numbers on the balls indicate certain articles that must be served direct from the range, others, such as sandwiches, are served from asandWich-table, and others from other tables, according to the bill of fare of the cafe. There is an attendant at each one of the tables R B G Y, with which the dumb-waiters communicate, and it is the duty of these attendants to see that the orders for their respective counters above are filled and placed upon the dumb-waiter. Consequently the attendants at these tables must watch their respective compartments of the serving-table D, and as soon as anything is placed in their compartments by any of the serving peoplefor instance, from the range, sandwich counter, pie or pudding counterthey must immediately take it and place it upon the dumb-Waiter, to be carried to the counter. Simultaneously with the placing of the particular article on the section of the serving-table the director places the red ball, for instance, in the red tube 1", and it is conveyed to the channels r of the serving-table, so that, for instance, if a roast-beef sandwich were being served for the counter Rand a roast-beefsandwich were indicated by the numeral 3 then a ballwith the red 3 would be selected and passed through the tube 1' into the channel a of the desk A. The director would call out a roast-beef sandwich for red, and the attendant at the sandwichcounter would see that this order was filled and placed on the section 7" of the servingtable D, and as soon as this order was placed on the section 1' of the serving-table the director would take the ball with the red 3 and slip it into the tube a", and the ball would roll into the channel 0' on one side of the compartment 1" of the serving-table. The attendant at the table R at the base of the dumb-waiter would then see that there was an order on the section 1" of the serving-table D and would immediately take this order with the ball having the red 3 marked thereon, place both on the dumb-waiter and transfer both the order and the indicating-ball to the counter above. The order would be immediately taken by the attendant and served, while the ball would be placed in the third row of the tray for future use.

The several counters may for convenience be connected to the desk A by means of speakin g-tubes, if desired, or these tubes may communicate with the table at the dumb-waiters, so that special orders for dishes, napkins, or other stock can be communicated without unnecessary calling in the cafe proper.

The above-described system is used where the kitchen is below the caf, and the tubes are so arranged that the balls will travel by gravity. A suction pump or fan may be attached to the central receiving-tube E in the manner common to pneumatic transfer apparatus to increase the speed of the balls when they travel a long distance on a very slight incline, and Where the kitchen is on a line with or above the caf then a suction or other pneumatic system is essential.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination in a call-service for restaurants, of a counter or table in the diningroom, a call-desk in the kitchen, a tube leading from the counter or table in the diningroom to the call-desk in the kitchen, a series of balls inidcating different articles of food and constructed to travel through the tube from the counter or table to the call-desk, a serving-table in the kitchen and a branch tube forming communication between the call-desk and the serving-table, substantially as described.

2. The combination in a call-service for restaurants, of a counter or table in the diningroom, a call-desk in the kitchen, a servingtable in the kitchen, a tray at the counter or table having a series of compartments therein, a series of balls in said compartments, each ball having an indicating-mark and arranged in order on the tray, a tube leading from the counter or table in the dining-room to the call-desk in the kitchen, a serving-table and a tube leading from the call-desk to the serving-table, a channel at the desk, a channel at the serving-table so that an order can be given by inserting a ball with certain indicating-marks in the tube at the counter or table, allowing it to travel through the tube to the servingdesk so that the attendant at the serving-desk can call the order and place the ball in the tube leading to the servingtable, substantially as described.

3. The combination in a call-service for res-' taurants, of a plurality of counters in the main tube connected to the other tubes and having an outlet at the calling-desk, a series of balls for each counter, a serving-table, and a series of branch tubes extending from the calling-desk to the serving-table, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a call-service for restaurants, of two or more serving-stations, a

call-desk, a tube extending from the servingstation in the dining-room to the call-desk in the kitchen, a serving-table in the kitchen communicating with the call-desk through a series of tubes, said serving-table being divided into compartment-s according to the number of serving-stations in the diningroom, with an independent set of balls for RUTHERFORD W. JENNINGS.

Witnesses:

WILL. A. BARR, F. E. BEOHTOLD. 

